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MPs in Westminster should be treated no differently to any other public sector workers, Clegg said. Photograph: Justin Kase/Alamy
MPs in Westminster should be treated no differently to any other public sector workers, Clegg said. Photograph: Justin Kase/Alamy

Clegg: MPs must show pay restraint while public sector wages are held down

This article is more than 10 years old
We should not be treated differently to fellow constituents who work in public sector, says deputy PM

The deputy prime minister has said MPs should show the same restraint on pay rises as that enforced on other public sector workers.

Speaking on his weekly LBC Call Clegg phone-in programme, where he was quizzed about the possibility of a large pay rise for MPs, he stressed he could not influence the decision due to be announced by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa).

Referring to the large number of public sector workers subject to a pay freeze in his Sheffield Hallam constituency, Clegg said: "I don't think it is explicable to my constituents to say: 'By the way I am going to be treated completely differently to you, even though you and I are both paid by the taxpayer.' The principle is that we should not be treated differently to our fellow constituents who work in the public sector."

He said restraint for MPs should apply as long as restraint in the public sector was in force, but he added: "If Ipsa can prove after putting it all together this is a sensible way of putting MPs' pay on to a sensible footing then my idea would be to do that at a time when everyone else in the public sector is out of this period of public sector restraint."

In other domestic issues covered in the phone-in, Clegg – whose wife is Spanish and who has bilingual children – said he felt very strongly that immigrants had to learn English, so as to create a shared culture and values in society.

He said he was an unapologetic supporter of language tests for those seeking visas and for those seeking out-of-work benefits.

He said: "Any mum or dad is not doing their child any service if they are not equipping their children to learn English and the ability to communicate with their classmates."

He was speaking about a report showing that in three inner London boroughs three out of four children of primary school age were not speaking English at home.

He said again that he did not agree with an amnesty for illegal immigrants – a policy he and his party once strongly supported.

The London mayor, Boris Johnson, argues that a de facto amnesty already exists since public authorities abandon attempts to remove illegal immigrants after 10 years.

He explained: "I have over time changed my mind on this. Public confidence is so important in the immigration system and it has been so badly damaged by the chaos caused by the previous administration. I don't think it helps public confidence if the public in effect think illegal behaviour is being rewarded."

More on this story

More on this story

  • MPs' pay: deferring decision 'risks creating another expenses scandal'

  • Nick Clegg: public would not understand if MPs took pay rise

  • MPs' pay: never had it so good

  • Prominent MPs vow to reject any large pay rise proposals

  • MPs may get pay rise if other perks are cut, says David Cameron

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